The Network Enterprise Technology Commang/9th Signal Command (Army) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Apr. 19, for the Army's newest computer network defense facility, the Army Global Information Center Network Operations Facility, a multi-million dollar facility that will be responsible for all continental United States Army computer systems and networks.
This construction project for a new, and more technology efficient, computer network defense facility was made possible through the efforts of Arizona state legislators, to include help from Senator Kyl, Senator John McCain, Congresswoman Giffords, former Congressman Jim Kolbe, and the NETCOM G-4, Col. Joseph L. Garnes and his staff, said Col. William J. Scott, NETCOM/9th SC(A) chief of staff.
The plans call for an $18 million two-story, 53,250 square-foot facility that will be a workplace for more than 380 NETCOM Soldiers and Civilians. "Once complete, the building will support the CONUS-Theater Network Operations and Security Center (2nd Signal Center) and portions of the Regional computer Emergency Response Team," said Ron Stewart, deputy director C-TNOSC.
"Together, these organizations operate a service desk that provides direct support to Army installations and users on computer, network and technical security incidents, and a network operations center that monitors the status of Army networks in CONUS," Stewart said. "These two functions, service desk and network monitoring, provide a more advanced level of technical support for Army units in CONUS and deployed to Southwest Asia than is possible using our current operational concept with is, to a degree, constrained by the lack of a world-class facility such as will be provided by the NOF."
The new facility was needed for the additional space as much as the state-of-the-art physical facility. "The C-TNOSC has been at Fort Huachuca since 1992, gradually increasing in size as its role as the central operator of Army networks and computers in CONUS has grown," said Stewart. "Current facilities are remodeled space in 25-to 50-year-old buildings that cannot gracefully support the technical requirements of the C-TNOSC."
Although it will take about 18 months before the facility is complete, the benefits will begin immediately. Besides the obvious construction expenditures that help the local economy and businesses, this building will become the premiere Army network operations facility in the world, said Stewart.
The C-TNOSC is one of the avenues open to local graduates who want to gain entry-level experience in the Information Technology field. "The prestige associated with this will enhance Fort Huachuca's already high standing within the military community," said Stewart. "In economic terms, the NOF will enable continued creation of high-paying technical jobs in Southern Arizona."
Although this is just the start for this new facility, planning for the future, beyond the completion of the Network Operations Facility, had already begun. "The building is designed to allow the addition of a third floor at some point in the future," said Stewart. "The technical infrastructure of the building was designed to be used into the future. All in all the new NOF will provide a twenty-first century facility to house the C-TNOCS's leading edge technical mission."
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